Hairdresser employees in China don’t usually have an easy life: six-day workweeks, hardly any social security, and monthly wages of 1500 to 2500 RMB (approx. 200-350 euros) are not uncommon. In addition, customers’ expectations are high and competition between the individual store chains is enormous. A start-up from Changshu (Jiangsu Province) wants to improve the social situation of employees and at the same time ensure a higher quality of service.

YouMeiHui, which in English means “collection of beautiful products”, is the name of the network launched by Alan Zhu, Steven Cao, and other start-up entrepreneurs. “Our app is aimed primarily at people from the upper middle class who want better service,” says Steven Cao. The computer science student from the Changshu Institute of Technology is one of eight founders of the start-up. The others, Alan Zhu, Chris Wang, Yong Chen, Yue Dong Zhu, Zhi Gang Yu, Lei Qing, and Xin Liu, either come from the IT industry or work as managers of hair salons. Alan Zhu has already been working in the hair salon industry for 13 years. Yi Lian Lan owns one of the most popular chains in Changshu.

YouMeiHui offers several interesting functionalities for hairdressers and customers:

Review: Opportunities to rate a specific hair salon, an employee, or a specific hair care product: Hairdressers with good training and particularly good service have the opportunity to gain additional customers through good reviews and earn a special reputation.
Credit Point Overview: Regular customers can secure discounts on salons or hair care products using loyalty points.
Activities: Overview of special discount campaigns, and discounts for loyal customers;
Orders: Overview of online orders;
Online shop: Selection of high-quality shampoos and hair styling products;
Reservations: Customers can book specific employees for themselves.

With its special focus, YouMeiHui is unique in the Chinese social media landscape. The app, which was launched online on October 6, 2015, already had over 3,000 users in Changshu after just three weeks – the majority of whom are wealthy owners of VIP cards that allow discounts on services such as haircutting or coloring. The app can currently be used in 20 hair salons: “We plan to initially concentrate on Changshu and the surrounding cities such as Wuxi, Suzhou, and Shanghai,” says Alan Zhu. “Our goal is to have 100,000 users and 200 shops in Changshu and the surrounding area by the end of the year.” Interested parties can find the app in the 360 ​​Android Market, the Chinese iPhone App Store, and the Xiaomi Store.

Will the Shanghai Barcamp bring the breakthrough?

To be able to expand further and open up new markets, Steven Cao and Alan Zhu are trying to establish contacts with the Chinese start-up community. The two therefore decided to give a talk at the Shanghai Barcamp. Their primary goal: is to find an investor who can provide sufficient financial resources and who is also well-versed in the industry in which Alan Zhu and his colleagues are active.

John Heath, founder of an up-and-coming Shanghai start-up, believes in the success of the two Changshu-based companies: “Alan Zhu and his colleagues have discovered a gap in the market. Now it’s a matter of testing and improving the app even further. If YouMeiHui succeeds in establishing itself successfully in one city or province, the concept can quickly be transferred to other regions.”